MEET BRITTNEY KELLEY

You may recognize this mega babe from being on the arm of husband + co founder of TRIBE KELLY, Brian Kelley from one of my favorite bands and probably yours too, 'Florida Georgia Line'.

trust me when I say there is much more than meets the eye with this girl

\\ she is beautiful + intelligent + has a soul that is burning with passion //

you'll see what I mean and get to know her more when you read her q+a below

I was introduced to their brand, 'TRIBE KELLEY' not too long ago when a girlfriend tagged me in an instagram post. I was immediately drawn to this clothing line before I even knew anything to do with the owners. It was different, it was striking, it was not a brand that was "trying" to be trendy. It was a brand that was setting the trends. Effortless and so chic.

Not to mention it was a line that was functional. I literally thought "ohhh, I can totally where that out on date night and at school pick up". Now thats what I call a win/win!

Where does the name 'TRIBE Kelley' come from?

b. "Tribe Kelley was formed when I wanted to transform my college part-time job into a full-time brand my husband and I could both share. I ran my own Esty account in college to pay for my little one bedroom apartment. You could find me studying Psychology & creating one-of-a-kind pieces throughout my schooling at the University of Georgia. I was married by the time my last semester came about & Tribe Kelley was formed on my husband’s tour bus one afternoon. Combining my native american ancestry by using the word “Tribe” and our last name “Kelley,” the brand was born"

What do you find most difficult about running a business with your husband?

b."I find managing our creative and personal time together the most difficult. When your passion is being creative, sometimes it is hard to turn on and off. When your working with your spouse, it is important to schedule “off” time. Off time to me is simply going on a mindless walk in nature or finding yourself driving a backroad having unplanned conversations. It is also important to find personal time to re-charge so that when you are around your spouse you are able to fully give your time and attention to them whether that be for business or personal time"

How do you find balance between traveling so much and running a business?

b. "I run my business on the road while I travel. To be honest, sometimes I get the most work done while on a four hour plane ride to Los Angeles. Some of the best list making sessions happen in the back of an Uber stuck in traffic. Having to adapt to working on a bus, plane or even train sometimes, is one of the most challenging, yet greatest parts of what I do. If I wasn’t able to travel, where would I draw my inspiration? Sometimes I wonder if I was never forced to sit four hours on a plane if I would ever get any computer work done"

It seems like you both have a good hold on originality with your brand, do you feel thats what leads to your success?

b. "My husband and I both are big on being original with your art, no matter what form your creating. With music or design, you must draw inspiration from somewhere, but the result must be something so original it cannot be copied. We design our collections seasons ahead of time, so copying what is currently trending is never an issue for us. We like to create styles that fit our lifestyle at that moment, giving us the upper hand on originality, in my opinion"

Looking ahead 3 years from now, where do you see your brand going?

b. "We dream of having small, curated boutiques all over the US and possibly the world some day"

What has been the hardest struggle through starting and owning your own business? & how did you get through it?

b. "The hardest struggle for me personally, is being too independent. I don’t like to ask for help and sometimes you NEED to ask for help. I like for things to be done in detail and I fear if I don’t do them myself, then they aren’t done right. My biggest challenge has been to let parts of Tribe Kelley be handled by my team. For example, by allowing my social media team to take over, it has given me ample time I need to design & perfect future collections"

If you had one "do over" as a business owner, what would it be?

b. "Having more patience & opening on a correct “fashion schedule.”— I rushed to open my online business because of excitement. I ended up putting myself behind schedule on seasons and I should’ve waited a couple more months."

If you could give an advice card to each couple who is considering starting a business together, what would it say?

b. "Make sure you and your spouse both want to enter business together. I have friends and family couples that would never be able to work together, and that is OK. Some couples operate better having different jobs so that they can come back together at the end of the day and have options to converse about. Other couples enjoy being around each other hourly and are able to work within the same job. Being honest about working together is the best advice I can give. My husband is also a musician, so he gets his time to work on a project separate from our brand, and it is always refreshing to have other topics to chat about at the end of the day"

Hope you guys enjoyed this feature as much as I did. Now go buy some'TRIBE KELLEY' pieces and let me know your thoughts!

ZEN Soul Studio + Salvaged Soul

Interior Design Collab

In January a good friend/client of mine called me to tell me she was opening up her own yoga studio and was looking at a couple spaces. Less than 2 weeks later she had the keys to her new studio and I was on a plane to Scottsdale, Az to get our design on!

When I finally got to walk the space I was just flooded with visions. My girlfriend Lindsay, the founder/owner of ZEN Soul Studio was going for a modern glam vibe but still keeping industrial accents in mind. I took measurements and photos of every inch of this place, being this would be a job I would have to oversee from out of state. We did as much as possible in the two days I was there and everything else was via email/phone. Pretty much painted every wall that we did not put wallpaper on white to keep an open airy feel and changed out all the receptacles to a more updated and clean style. We were fortunate enough this space was a yoga studio before and already had the floors and mirrors.

I did not have much time as she wanted to open by her 30th birthday, 4 weeks later!

This meant we needed to

GET

SHIT

DONE

\\in a very short time//

::STUDIO BEFORE::

::STUDIO AFTER::

this studio truly does set your soul on fire with all the good vibes. brick wallpaper that makes you feel like you're in a New York loft, Restoration Hardware velvet curtains with custom industrial rods, a barn door that is a MAJOR statement piece with its custom metal/wood combination. oh and lets not forget about that 'TAKE what you NEED' tapestry I made the night before the grand opening. beyond in love with this space.

::LOUNGE BEFORE::

::LOUNGE AFTER::

this part of the studio really needed some customization with the layout and window/door placement. completed with a custom modern Salvaged Soul sectional, triangle wall shelves, and an oversized floating shelf that doubles as a storage drawer. oh, and should we talk about the to-die-for metallic wallpaper? OMG! pillows and wall art from Z Gallerie, lighting from Restoration Hardware.

::STORAGE ROOM BEFORE::

::STORAGE ROOM AFTER::

this space was tricky but nothing a couple oversized triangle shelves can fix, perfect cubbies!

::BATHROOM BEFORE::

::BATHROOM AFTER::

this bathroom called for some geometric pattern leather wallpaper, a glam metallic salvaged soul wood framed mirror, and a pretty chandelier

If you local to the Scottsdale area PLEASE do yourself a favor and not only check out this gorgeous space but take a class with Lindsay. Her passion and love for what she's doing shines so bright and you will LOVE a buti yoga class with her <3

BEING A FIRST TIME BUSINESS OWNER CAN BE SCARY, HOW DO YOU STAY MOTIVATED TO GET THROUGH THE STRUGGLES TO REACH THE SUCCESSFUL POINTS OF EACH DAY?

L." I stay motivated by keeping the focus on what we're striving to do and that is making women feel great about themselves. Regardless if we have one person in class or 20, we give the same energy and make sure everyone leaves feeling amazing and knowing they're part of a community"

WHAT HAS BEEN THE HARDEST STRUGGLE THROUGH THE PROCESS OF STARTING AND OWNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS? & HOW ARE YOU GETTING THROUGH IT?

L. "The hardest struggle has definitely been balancing work and my kids. Between running the studio and shuffling 3 babies around to school, sports, birthday parties etc. it's definitely been a challenge to getting used to. I've had a great support system from my family and the girls who teach at Zen Soul. I can say for a fact it takes a village and I have a damn good one 👊🏼"

IF YOU COULD GIVE AN ADVICE CARD TO EACH WOMEN WHO IS CONSIDERING STARTING THEIR OWN BUSINESS WHAT WOULD IT SAY?

L. "I would say there's never going to be a "good time" to start a business. It's never going to jump right out at you and say do it now! It will always be hard and there will always be obstacles but it's so worth it"

I though I'd switch it up a little bit and answer 3 questions Lindsay had for me <3

+Lindsay asks Christa+

What's one thing you would change if you had to start all over in business?

This is a tough one because I am such a big believer in things happening the way they are suppose to. I'm not saying things have been perfect because there many times I can look back on and want to change them but if those things changed I may have missed out on a learning experience.

What's your favorite type of client to work with?

A client who values and appreciates my work. Someone who values me as a mother, as a wife, as a business own, and as a creative. I am very fortunate to have built such a genuine clientele. I feel like social media has allowed me to connect to so many clients on a personal level in which the DO value and appreciate my work so much.

How do you find a good balance between kids, work, and relationship?

When I had that ah ha moment of realizing there is no such thing as a perfect balance when you have kids, a husband, and a career. I actually began to feel balanced. I was not stressing on trying to live up to a perfect schedule or routine that society sees you as "balanced" and held together all the time. Some weeks I am able to make dinner every night and some weeks we literally eat out every night. Some nights my kids get a bath, some nights they don't. Some mornings I can make breakfast, some mornings I have the box of cereal in my truck on the way to school and the boys are fighting over who gets to hold it. Its just life. Be thankful you are living and have it in you to pursue the things that make you happy.

I'm sure you all know or have seen her on 'The Real Housewives of Orange County' for nearly a DECADE.... but, if not allow me to introduce you to

TAMRA JUDGE

Let me just kick this off by saying what a genuine and supportive woman Tamra has been over the past year of knowing her! She is not just a client, she is a friend and someone who has given myself along with many other women in business some of the BEST advice and opportunities ever! She has gone above and beyond to work with MANY different small shops and women whom I have connected her with. Not too long ago we did a girls day and went shopping at a couple of my favorite boutiques (Swirl Boutique + Stitch & Feather), the following week she was filming at Swirl Boutique, she could have filmed anywhere but she wanted to support and do what she could through her connections to gain them a great deal of exposure. THAT my friends is one badass chick who does not HAVE to, but WANTS to go the extra mile for another womenpreneur.

The point is to gain knowledge and relate to women at all points of their career going through the SAME shit we all are as entrepreneurs because this ain't all rainbows and butterflies. Owning your own business is one of the toughest but most rewarding jobs us women can do. But you have to have thick blood, you have to fight for that end vision and not give up when everyone else would. Tamra is one of us!

Tamra + husband Eddie started their business 'CUT Fitness' located in Rancho Santa Margarita, Ca in 2013. CUT Fitness is known to be a kick ass one-stop-shop for all your fitness goals! Yes, she had a great deal of exposure on her side from being on the RHOC for many years prior but that doesn't mean the "start your own business" road was paved for her. She has done an amazing job at building a vision. Through the struggles and through the success's.

Not only is Tamra running a business with her husband, something Jesse and I could NOT EVER DO. So major props to the both of them for their A+ in TEAMWORK. But she has also been a full time reality star on 'the RHOC' for going on 10 seasons now, she is a mom, wife, AND a hot hot GRANDMA! The juggle is real and I'm sure she can tell you about that too.

let's get personal

being a cast member of the RHOC, do you consider that a "job" in itself or a real documentation of your life?

t. "I've always thought of it as a job. I'm 10 years into filming, and if I didn't I'd go crazy. There has been stressful times where I just had to say to myself "it's just a job, don't let it get to you". Sometimes it's hard not taking things personally since its a show documenting my life. I still have to answer to a boss and I get paid...... yep, its a job."

what's your secret to finding balance between filming, family, and being a business owner?

t. "Finding balance no matter what you do is never easy. I have my moments where I just want to run away. The truth is one aspect of your life will always be unbalancedat certain times. Right now I'm filming for the next 2 months. I can't be at CUT Fitness every day or make dinner every night. I can't always get up at 5 am to workout and sometimes I need help with the kids. It's just not possible to do it all. Eddie is a big help with everything including the kids. All I can do is try my best, adjust to my schedule and get less sleep. When filming is over things ease up and it's a little easier to juggle kids, house, and CUT Fitness."

what has been the hardest struggle through the process of starting and owning your own business? & how did you get through it?

t. "Starting my own business was a real eye opener. I had never done it before and I made a lot of mistakes. They say the first year you make all the mistakes, the second year you try to fix them, and the third year you make money if you're lucky. It cost me 10 times more than I thought and you're basically strapped to the business for the first 3 years. Most new business owners think they will open a business and the money will come rolling in...... Not true!

We are on year 4 at CUT Fitness and we are constantly changing our business model to what is hot in the fitness industry. We started a "class only" studio. We have grown into a personal and small group training facility, with multiple trainers that lease space from us and multiple trainers under our CUT Fitness umbrella. We do specialty training like Spartan and offer nutrition and online programs."

if you had one "do over" as a business owner what would it be?

t. "Hmmm, do over? There are so many from our location to investing our own cash into the business. But the truth is we have learned so much through the process. I always tell people that lose their business to not give up. Now they are fully prepped to open up their next business and not make the same mistakes as last time."

if you could give an advice card to each women who is considering starting their own business what would it say?

t. My advice would be........ do something you're passionate about and give away FREE SHIT!!!! Get on social media, reach out to the public and send them your product. Write them a nice SHORT note and follow up. Don't ask them to post it, they get asked that every day. Giving someone something and expecting something in return is never a good attitude to have. If they post it GREAT, that's advertising you probably couldn't afford. Give things to your friends and family too. Word of mouth is HUGE!"

The day has FINALLY come & I have decided on a name for this new chapter of Salvaged Soul!

'let's get in her business'

But not in the typical bitchy judgmental way, in a way that we all NEED it! To show our love, support & how much we believe in one another to MAKE SHIT HAPPEN as a women in business!

I want to create a place where the word EMPOWERMENT bleeds, a place where we won't feel alone at night in bed scrolling through all the happy BS while we're stressing out over not being able to make deadlines or how you're going to keep this business alive after a day of everything that could go wrong going wrong. A place to come read about relatable & REAL topics. We've all been there! No matter what phase you're in or going through. Starting a business is hard but running a business is way HARDER. Like way way harder. Especially when you add the dynamic of a husband, children, family, friends, life. The bottom line this we are doing what we love but don't always love what we are doing. If that makes any sense? But at the end of the day we know we are doing what we were put on God's green earth to do. And THAT my friends is why we need each other!

So basically, every week I am going to feature a badass boss babe on my blog. Some weeks it will be a high profile celebrity & some weeks it will be someone you've probably never heard, but obvi should. I will write up a rundown on them, their business, & how they inspire me. There will also be a q&a with each girl, a very beneficial and relatable q&a!

WHO DO YOU WANT TO SEE FEATURED?

let's connect *

let's connect

First Name

Last Name

your email address *

name of babe or business you want to see featured *

what advice would you want from them? *

Thank you!

I want to give you guys a little back story on me but I will elaborate on a blog post about myself and business later!

How did I start Salvaged Soul?

The short answer to this is...... Well, I just went with it. It was a passion right from the get go. I started DIYing wood framed mirrors. They were selling like hot cakes. SCORE! I had a client ask me if I could make her an end table. Guess what my answer was! "ABSOLUTELY!". Because what did I have to lose? If it turned out like shit I would just give her her money back and call it a day. Well, it turned out AMAZING. I was able to do something with my two hands (don't get an 8th grade thought with that one LOL) that I never thought I could. I will say one MAJOR thing to always remember is YOU CAN DO IT! When YOU believe in YOU, so will everyone else. Passion is contagious & people want to be part of it. Whether it's supporting you or being inspired by you. Anyways, from there the rest was history. Fast forward 4 years & there is not a single piece of furniture I haven't built.

How do I balance being a mom, wife, & business owner?

I don't. I am very aware of the fact that it's nearly impossible & that is exactly why I have no expectations of myself & the word or term "balance". I have accepted the fact that some nights my sink will be overflowing with dishes when I got to bed, my kids will eat their breakfast in the truck on the way to school while doing their homework, & I won't be able to commit to a schedule of any sort because I am running a motha f*ckin business. Balance comes from within, it's not a "real" thing, its in your head. YOU create your own BALANCE. It's not comparable to the "stay home mom" who get's to make mickey mouse pancakes every morning & has dinner on the table at 5. We are a different breed ladies & we are making the world a BETTER place one business at a time! So cheers to that!

The Crawfords Desert Romance

10.01.2016

I don't even know where to start so I am going to just dive right !

Jesse and I had been together nearly 9 years and had two babies by the time he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. A lot of you ask, why? Why did you guys wait so long? Well, when you're with someone from the age of 17 and have your first baby by 19 you've kind of already gone against what's "right", so what's the rush then? Or at least that's how I felt. I also knew that I did not want a courthouse wedding (no offense, just not my jam) and I don't like to half ass anything. We both knew we were committed and wanted nothing more than our family, so until the day came where Jesse would ask me to be his wife and we would be in the position to have the wedding of our dreams it wasn't happening...

But, that all changed when the time was right! In my previous blog post I talk about our story and engagement, check that out here if you haven't already!

I'm a little bit of a "know it all" (I don't really, but sometimes think I do). I thought planning a wedding was no different than planning a birthday party or a business event. Well, I was WRONG. First of all, I did not even really start planning until July, our wedding date was 10-01-16, which gave me 3 months to plan the most magical day of our lives. Jesse and I got engaged about 10 months before the date we set, which means I should have started my planning LIKE the day after, duh! It really hit me and started to stress me out when I sat down to write our invite list and had over 250 people on it, shit was getting real.

One of the BEST decisions I made for our day was to have a 'first look'. Both my wedding planner and photographers were really wanting us to do a 'first look', I was skeptical about it because I wanted there to be that big moment when Jesse saw me for the first time walking down the isle. At the same time I knew how crazy the boys would be after the ceremony and really wanted to make sure we had "family time" to celebrate with just us. It was one the most special moments of my entire life. Seeing the boys feeling as anxious as I was waiting for daddy to see mommy in her wedding dress all ready to become his wife. I feel like I got that big moment and even more. We got to be fully present and enjoy it with our babies. Not to mention, got the most AMAZING family photos I could have ever dreamed of.

Another huge part of our day that made it "US" is our wardrobe choices. We definitely did not go for the traditional vibe, with anything! But really, when have we done anything traditional? Never.

TIP #1// KEEP YOUR VIBE ALIVE. You will never get this day back.

I did not know a lot going into this whole process but I did know one thing for sure. I wanted it my way, my style, my vibe, my music, my designs, MY Wedding! Right?! We would wear what felt normal. We did not want a wedding party. After all, this day was about us four and thats as simple as that. My grandmother would be our officiant. End of Story. A two piece gown is what spoke to me. A beanie or hat is what jesse felt comfortable in. White button ups were as "fancy" as my boys wanted to be. It wasn't until the morning before our wedding we were on the boat listening to music and I heard 'Eyes on Fire' by Blue Foundation (one of my all time favorite songs) that I decided that's what Jesse and the boys would walk down the isle to. I walked down the isle and our first dance was to 'Love Me Like You Do' by Ellie Goulding because it made me feel sexy. I chose to wear my 4 year old rugged combat boots instead of be barefoot for my ceremony. We were introduced at our reception as Mr. & Mrs. Crawford with 'Started From The Bottom' by Drake playing in the background. We successfully kept our vibe alive and pretty certain if you ask anyone who was there they would say it was the BEST wedding they've ever been to!

TIP #2// HIRE A WEDDING PLANNER, NOT JUST ANY BUT MY GIRLS LAURA & DANIELLE OVER AT 'PERFECTLY POISED EVENTS'After Laura had come over for a consultation, basically 3 hours of opening my eyes to so many little details that I would have NEVER thought of until the day of my wedding and I guarantee I would have been so unhappy. With only 3 months to go before the BIGGEST day of our lives (aside from the 2 days our boys were born) I was ready to do the damn thing. Laura was too! She became my full time, 8 phone conversations a day personal assistant, therapist, negotiator, designer, and so much more. I had a vision and she BROUGHT IT TO LIFE! Today I can call her one of my very best friends.

TIP #3// DO NOT pass on hiring a videographer! #bestdecisionofmylife

You truly will NEVER have these moments back, ever. This was something I contemplated more than anything, I had so many people tell me they never even watched their video after their wedding. Well, we did and we still do! So much happens during this day that you don't get to see, feel, hear, and enjoy because let's face it, your wedding day is a blur. It flies by quicker than you could ever imagine. Hiring The Quail & The Dove was probably one of the best decisions in my life! No joke. Not to mention they were phenominal to work with! Enjoy the video!

TIP #4// YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO WILL KNOW SOMETHING DID NOT GO THE WAY YOU WANTED IT TO, NOT EVERYONE ELSE..... WELL, MAYBE (but don't stress the small stuff)

I am going to tell you that shit is going to go south at some point and you have to just roll with it.

Like, when your veil takes over the first half of your ceremony because the wind is pulling your whole head in the opposite direction while almost catching on fire and wrapping itself around the cactus. I ended up making a joke out of it in front of everyone "I had to buy the longest f*cking veil they sold didn't I!". Or your custom arch being blown over by the wind minutes before your ceremony and breaking half of the ceramic planters in the macramé holders. Just to name a couple things.

A few other things starting from the get go did not quite go as planned. Originally we wanted to have our wedding in the middle of the desert where Jesse proposed, and that was the "plan". Well, there were a few minor details like bathrooms, how guests with cars would get out there, ect. We decided to change the venue to the Bluewater Casino & Resort in Parker, Az. That was until, 3 weeks before our wedding day when we found a venue that was everything I could have dreamed of and more. Havasu Springs Resort it was! The 'Point' was a cliff that overlooked the water. It was perfection and I knew that is where we had to say "I Do".

TIP #5// GO ALL OUT! YOU WILL THANK YOURSELF LATER.

Lastly, this day only happens once in your life, well maybe not but hopefully for us! Haha! Being a small business owner it was very important to me to work with other small business owners in my wedding. Little did I know I would end up working with 25 of them. Okay, I know that sounds crazy but I wasn't lying when I said I wanted to GO ALL OUT with the details. Each and every one of them meant so much to me. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!